Summary

“Appleless” is narrated by an unnamed narrator. The story focuses on an unnamed girl who refuses to eat apples. The narrator and the rest of the community love apples and are horrified at the girl’s aversion to them. The community then feels the need to eat more apples to compensate, and soon the only things that they eat are apples. One day, the narrator and the other people see the girl and find her strikingly beautiful. They approach her and kiss her all over her body, and they regain a deep hunger for foods other than apples. The girl cries as they touch and kiss her body, and when they finally stop, she flees and never returns.

“The Red Ribbon,” centers on a married couple, Janet and Daniel. One day, Daniel sheepishly admits that he sometimes fantasizes...